Education policies tend to target failing schools that are often located in disadvantaged communities. However, the use of high-stakes testing to identify and punish failing schools has become increasingly controversial. An overemphasis on test scores to determine school quality has led to unintended consequences and overshadows other valuable school-based resources that parents feel meaningfully contribute to students' academic experiences. To better understand how low-SES parents describe their children's low performing schools, I interviewed 92 families in an under-served community. Through these interviews I illuminate the school-based resources that contribute to school quality. In fact, these additional elements were often more important signifiers of school quality for low-SES parents than were test scores.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of high-stakes testing under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act on school culture. Individual interviews and focus groups were conducted with first grade through sixth grade teachers and principals from two of Nebo School District's schools located in Utah. Their responses were categorized into twelve themes. Most of the teachers and principals reported that high-stakes testing negatively impacted student and teacher motivation, teaching and learning, and curriculum. They also discussed negative effects of the application questioned the accuracy of high-stakes testing. Fewer teachers and principals communicated positive effects of high-stakes testing. Among these positive effects were that testing data provided some useful information about teaching and learning and provided some accountability. Implications regarding these findings are discussed. This in-depth case study analysis of two elementary schools will add to the growing number of qualitative studies about the effects of high-stakes testing under the NCLB Act.

No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top are Federal educational policies that have evoked criticism from teachers and administrators. Both policies extended the federal government’s reach into local education by tying federal funds to a school’s student growth and teacher effectiveness. With an increasing emphasis on economic mechanisms such as choice and competition, teachers’ effectiveness is now determined by standardized and quantifiable measurements. These policies have created a data driven and high stakes accountability culture within each school. Teachers are finding themselves in a new balancing act of recording quantifiable yearly progress for all students while trying to work against environmental factors that are out of their control. The rising trend to utilize a “no zero” homework policy under these new pressures merits investigation into its role within teacher culture and these current tensions. The recent call for anthropology to re-enter the classroom as a cultural site allows the researcher to provide context to the fluid relationships that often lead to the reproduction of or resistance against dominant ideology. Using the case study method, this ethnography employs the critical theory framework to examine policy impact on teacher culture and gain an understanding for how and why trends such as the “no zero” homework become a part of school policy. By looking at a “school of choice” and a traditional “feeder middle school,” this thesis gives context to how the local trends illuminate larger cultural shifts

The evolving nature of education emphasizes the importance of fostering 21st-century skills. To align with the requirements of the contemporary era, Uzbekistan introduced its new competency based National Curriculum, highlighting the development of 21st century skills. Despite the National Curriculum's emphasis on contemporary skills, a gap persists due to the exam-focused education system in Uzbekistan, with university entrance exams largely dictating classroom practices. This qualitative study, through students’ lenses and experiences, aims to explore how preparation for these exams, particularly in English, aligns with the goals of National Curriculum. Washback, defined as the influence of tests on teaching and learning, has been utilized as the study’s conceptual framework. Reflexive thematic analysis has been employed as the method for data analysis. The participants include first-year public university students in Uzbekistan. The findings revealed a multifaceted, complex and context-specific nature of washback. Key observations include a negative washback effect of high stakes public university entrance exams, leading to the prioritization of exam subjects at the expense of holistic education, a misalignment between English instruction and the curriculum, high-stakes entrance exam induced stress, and broader educational context factors, such as lack of teacher qualification and competence, low teacher salary, contributing to poor quality education. The study also highlights the crucial role of private tutoring in preparing for higher education and the emergence of unethical practices in schools. While the exams fostered certain 21st-century skills in students, an overemphasis on rote memorization limits deeper cognitive competencies. Positive washback is observed in lyceum education and among students preparing for the IELTS exam - an alternative pathway to fulfill the English language requirement for public HE, advocating for measurement-driven instruction and comprehensive language skill development. The study concludes that positive changes in Uzbekistan’s public university admission system could be achieved through a more holistic assessment of students’ skills and competencies and measurement-driven approach to education. The study recommends incorporating students' school performance as an admission criterion, offering a more comprehensive assessment of their abilities and knowledge.

This study was designed to examine the ideal and actual teaching practices of sixth through eighth grade teachers in the Rankin County School District whose students take the Mississippi Curriculum Test in an effort to raise student achievement whose students take the Mississippi Curriculum Test. It was also designed to examine whether ideal or actual teaching practices align with constructivist or behaviorist teaching practices. Eighty nine sixth, seventh, and eighth grade teachers whose students took the Mississippi Curriculum in the Spring 2006 semester participated in the study. Teachers responded to two surveys whose questions were identical but from two different frames of reference: one with high stakes testing and one without high stakes testing. Teachers also responded to a third survey that asked for their perceptions of the Mississippi Curriculum Test. A two-way Measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), supported by a tukey post hoc comparison on the scale scores of the questionnaires were used to determine if there was a statistically significant difference between teachers? ideal and actual teaching practices to improve student achievement on the Mississippi Curriculum Test. Further findings from the study did conclude that there was a statistically significant difference in teachers use of behaviorist and constructivist instructional practices. Data obtained from the study indicated that there are significant differences in teachers actual and ideal instructional practices in relation to their behaviorist and constructivist instructional practices. Data obtained from the participants indicated that they use favor constructivist practices to raise student achievement on the Mississippi Curriculum Test.

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The goal of this study was to better understand the perspective of administrators on accountability and high stakes testing - what effect it has, if any, on his/her ability to serve as building administrator. Through a series of in-depth interviews and analysis of the perception of principals that lead schools that are on various levels of No Child Left Behind sanctions, this study will help the reader to understand how high stakes testing and accountability have impacted the leadership of the school principal. As presented by Allen (2008) are we focusing curriculum on preparation for high-stakes testing versus the philosophy of letting the high stakes testing evaluate the effectiveness of what is being taught as a method for supporting learning? From budgeting and organizational structure, to local curriculum and classroom instruction, efforts from external sources to ensure "accountability" in public schools have impacted virtually every aspect of school operations in America. No Child Left Behind is the initiative most often associated with the current accountability movement. While this study did not aim to measure the effectiveness of initiatives like No Child Left Behind, it did aim to analyze how these measures have impacted the role of the building principal. This study used a semi-structured interviews with eleven elementary school principals who lead schools on a sampling of the No Child Left Behind sanction continuum. In addition to interviews, pertinent documents and artifacts will be analyzed. The constant comparative method (Glaser & Stauss, 1967) will be used to analyze the data in terms of the study's two theoretical frameworks: Turbulence Theory (Gross, 1998) and Multiple Ethical Paradigm. / Educational Administration